About St. Joseph Health

SJH provides a full range of care facilities including 16 acute care hospitals,
home health agencies, hospice care, outpatient services, skilled nursing
facilities, community clinics and physician groups. All of our hospital
and home health entities are accredited by the Joint Commission. In our
award-winning facilities, SJH maintains a "continuum of care," matched
to the diverse needs of the urban centers, smaller cities and rural communities
who depend on us every day.

HealthCalling

Quit Smoking Today With the Right Help

The benefits of quitting smoking start within 20 minutes of your last cigarette
as your blood pressure and heart rate begin to recover. Within 24 hours,
your chance of having a heart attack decreases. Within 48 hours, your
nerve endings start to regrow. Within weeks, your circulation and lung
function can improve. Within one year, your risk of coronary heart disease
can decrease by 50 percent, and after 10 years of quitting, your risk
of lung cancer can drop by 50 percent.

It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been smoking, how old you
are, how bad your health is—quitting smoking has major and immediate
benefits for everybody.

“Smoking can lead to lung cancer and other cancers,
COPD and
emphysema, not to mention you’re also exposing loved ones around you to second-hand
smoke, which puts them at risk for the same issues,” says Dina Smith,
RN, BSN, a lung nurse navigator at
Covenant Health’s
Joe Arrington Cancer Center in Lubbock, Texas. “It can get to the point where someone is struggling
to breathe and they’re pretty much suffocating. It’s horrible
to watch someone go through that kind of pain, but it’s preventable—people
just need to quit smoking, and we want to offer them the resources to
do that and lead a healthy life.”

If you’re like many smokers, you’ve tried to quit over and
over again—whether it was by going “cold turkey” or
using nicotine gum or patches—but failed. Nicotine is highly addictive,
and it’s no wonder it’s so hard to quit. But don’t let
yourself get discouraged—today is the perfect time to try again
since the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared May 31 as
World No Tobacco Day.

Making a plan to quit smoking takes three steps, says Smith, who runs the smoking cessation program at the Joe Arrington
Cancer Center:

Recognize your triggers. This includes identifying your risk situations and developing strategies
to cope. “The hardest part for people trying to quit is that smoking
is often used as a stress reliever, and it’s a learned habit,”
says Smith. “You have to replace your bad habit with other stress
relievers, such as exercising or picking up a new hobby that you enjoy.”

Build your support group. A key component to successfully kicking the habit is having a strong support
system in place, both at home and in the community, says Smith. “You’ve
got to have a lot of support to not start smoking again. Friends, family
and your physician can help you stick to your quit goal,” she says.
“And if there’s someone else smoking in the same house, it’s
almost impossible to quit. Everyone has to be willing to try to stop.”

Start the plan. This includes four smaller steps: First, see your physician, who can
evaluate your health and discuss options for medications that may help
you quit. Then, sign up for a cessation support plan. Next, keep your
goals top-of-mind, and, finally, track your progress. “Your goal
may be to see certain health improvements, to save money from not buying
cigarettes or to increase your activity level,” says Smith. “Whatever
your motivation is, keep it at the forefront of your mind, track it and
be inspired by your progress to continue.”

Cessation Support Plans Work

St. Joseph Health offers various resources to get you smoke-free and turn
your health around, including cessation programs at both the Joe Arrington
Cancer Center in Lubbock as well as at
Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Northern California. These programs are free and open to anyone in
the community. Participants are offered either one-on-one or group support
sessions where you’ll learn to control triggers and overcome withdrawal
symptoms. This will be done in synch with any medications your physician
has recommended to help quit smoking, whether that’s a nicotine
patch, gum, nasal spray, or other options. Statistics have proven that
people who participate in a cessation program are much more likely to
kick the habit after one year than those who try to quit alone.

Follow Your Health After Quitting

Symptoms of lung cancer often don’t appear until the disease is
already at an advanced, non-curable stage, which is why early detection
of lung cancer is something that board-certified radiologist
Bruce Troup, MD, at Queen of the Valley Medical Center, is passionate about. The Queen
now offers a new, low-dose
lung CT screening, which uses lower amounts of radiation than a standard chest CT and does
not require the use of intravenous (IV) contrast dye.

“The low-dose CT screening is one of the easiest types of screenings
you can have; it’s non- invasive and only takes about five minutes,”
says Dr. Troup. “By the time you detect lung cancer, unfortunately
it is often too late, and the cancer has metastasized. This test has been
proven to reduce lung cancer by 30 percent and I have seen it save the
lives of my patients and my own mother.”

According to the American Cancer Society, those who meet
all of the following criteria may be candidates for this lung cancer screening:

55 to 77 years old

Have at least a 30-pack per year smoking history

Are either still smoking or have quit smoking within the last 15 years

In fairly good health. For example, no current symptoms of lung cancer,
able to have surgery and other treatments if cancer is found, and
other factors.

Let St. Joseph Health help you quit smoking today and turn your health
around. To learn more about the Freshstart Smoking Cessation Classes at
the Joe Arrington Cancer Center, call (806) 725-8159. To learn more about
the Contact the Community Action Napa Valley (CANV) Quit Smoking Program
at Queen of the Valley Medical Center, call (707) 253-6100, ext. 132.

Do you have an inspiring story of how you kicked the smoking habit, or
tips for those who are struggling? Share it with us below!

Read more about the health dangers of smoking and information on quitting:

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The general information presented by HealthCalling is not intended to serve
as medical advice or as a diagnosis. Please get in touch with your primary
care physician for any medical concerns. For suggested topics and comments
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